Slater Mill

A video of our guide at Slater Mill explaining how carding combswere used to line up cotton fibres - a natural cellulose fibre very similar to the fibres I am working with. This was an exciting demonstration for me because I learned about the known techniques for carding in contrast to my self-guided experiments in the model shop with re-appropriated tools.

Retting and Felting

Agricultural Textiles

I am begining to be interested in designing an Agricultural Textile - a textile that is engineered to function with the process of cultivating crops. Agricultural textiles exist for many uses from retaining water, UV shields, structural support to grown plats and as the germination environment for seeds. They can have properties that include insect and animal repellants, and can reduce man work in situations where labor is expensive, or provide jobs where business is booming.

My material can be very strong and withstand a lot of water saturation, and even retain a large amount of water when it is made with Sugar Cane fibres and Polyester Fibres. When my material is made with a cotton, it is easily broken down, but provides an ideal breaking down time for seeds that could be placed in it and planted in large sheets in a filed.

With sun, the Sugar Cane will weather and become brittle and break down within weeks.

Problem

What are the areas we want to address?

sustainability
affordable
replicable
income
ecosystem
reuse
profit

promoting education/earth as a place for students or promoting or supporting the use of technology

money for the producers
grow harvest transform and sell
scalable from local markets to international markets
international markets are the goal based on current economy of costa rica (see note)
what are the properties of scaleable projects?

Materials

1. try retting to extract fibers

2. possibilities:
textiles out of spun fibers - not viable out of rice straw and sugar cane, even after retting and softening
felting composites w/ adhesive for molding - viable

3. FELTING
fibers offer structure that particles do not have when composited. they can be felted and soft as a fabric or hardened with a binder.

percentage of different composite materials - variable create different qualities.
tests: cotton, natural fibers,

adhesive/binder creates different qualities
tests: polyprop, natural materials

new fibers: pineapple, banana, coconut,
how do these take dye? what aesthetic effects can you achieve? can you achieve a composite with steel wool?

Transportation in Costa Rica

Microscopic View of Materials